Why having a mostly paperless office is important now more than ever and how it is feasible.
- As always, for the environment
Most paper products come from unsustainably harvested forests using practices that are not good for the environment. Various species of animals are displaced, pollution and waste is caused and the amount of trees that exist to turn carbon dioxide back into oxygen is lessened.
- To lower the transmission of viruses in the office
We already know that coughs, sneezes and talking (especially loud talking, as this projects particles even farther distances) can transmit the coronavirus from an infected person to others around them, which is why wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth is encouraged to slow the spread of the virus. Now let’s consider objects and surfaces as an additional method of transmission. WebMD reports that the coronavirus can live on paper products for a few hours up to 5 days. In a typical Production Office setting Call Sheets, crew memos, accounting paperwork, and more are passed between departments throughout the day, thus exponentially increasing the chances that an infected individual from one department may expose those from other departments even without face to face interaction. Less paper passed around creates less chances for viral transmission between crew members.
- Help save on office expenses, which need to be beefed up elsewhere like cleaning supplies and PPE
The cost of paper products, ink and printing are high on most productions. As the frequency of cleaning shared equipment, sets, studios and office spaces increases there will naturally be an additional amount of supplies and PPE needed to supply this growing demand. Producers, Department Heads and Coordinators will need to factor this increased cost into their budgets when returning to work. Money saved from nearly eliminating the need for paper products and relying on digital distribution of those same documents and memos could potentially make up this difference and help to balance out this budgeting issue.
- To de-clutter and streamline office functions
Most office functions can be completed virtually these days. Forms can be created and filled out and approved with digital “signatures”, documents can be shared with many almost instantaneously, files or messages can be sent thousands of miles in seconds. The more comfortable we get with using modern day tools and technology to complete day to day tasks, the quicker and more streamlined our office workflow will become. The need for enormous binders to keep years of paper backups that will likely never be referenced can be virtually eliminated through backup drives, which are much easier to organize and navigate, and take up just a couple of square inches of space on your desk rather than an entire bookshelf. The office environment itself can become more efficient, less cluttered and easier to clean regularly making it a more hygienic environment for all who work there.
In short, going paperless has multitudes of benefits in our modern day office environment. What tools do you use that help you use less paper?
